On which I write about the books I read, science, science fiction, fantasy, and anything else that I want to. Currently trying to read and comment upon every novel that has won the Hugo and International Fantasy awards.

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Thursday, December 26, 2013

Follow Friday - The Hymn to Apollo Was Written in 138 B.C.

It's Friday again, and this means it's time for Follow Friday. There has been a slight change to the format, as now there are two Follow Friday hosts blogs and two Follow Friday Features Bloggers each week. To join the fun and make now book blogger friends, just follow these simple rules:

Follow both of the Follow My Book Blog Friday Hosts (Parajunkee and Alison Can Read) and any one else you want to follow on the list.

Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say hi in your comments.

Follow, follow, follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don't just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don't say "Hi".

If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the love . . . and the followers.

If you want to show the link list, just follow the link below the entries and copy and paste it within your post!

If you're new to the Follow Friday Hop, comment and let me know, so I can stop by and check out your blog!

And now for the Follow Friday Question: Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! What books did Santa stuff your stocking with this holiday season? Do a holiday book haul for us! If you don’t celebrate just show off your books that you got this week. Pictures!!!

Zero. I got zero books as gifts this year. I received lots of very nice geeky gifts like DVD copies of both The Hunger Games and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, as well as a Lego Quinjet that included three of the Avengers and a Lego Batman helicopter. I even got a gift card for ThinkGeek. So all in all, it has been a good Christmas for me. But no books. Maybe I'll get some for my birthday next year.

On the other hand, I gave a lot of books for Christmas. My father got a book about Teddy Roosevelt by Doris Kearns Goodwin, and my mother got a companion book for the Downton Abbey television series. I also have four nieces, two nephews, six soon-to-be nieces, and four soon-to-be nephews, and they all got books for Christmas. Roald Dahl books. Bruce Coville books. Books about bugs and snakes. And on and on. Lots and lots of books.

My family always says its too hard to buy me books for Christmas because they don't know what I have read or want to read. So I always get gift cards, which is fine by me :) Sorry to hear you didn't get any books this year!

@Book Blondie: I am very familiar with that problem. Generally, unless I specifically request a particular book, many people are hesitant to buy me books because they worry about inadvertently getting me a book I already own.

I'm definitely the book giver of my family as well! Most of the time I don't receive books because people have no idea what to get. This is the first year in 13 that I haven't gotten my nephew something bookish. He's kinda gotten to a certain point where books aren't cool for Christmas gifts haha.

The only purchase I've ever made from ThinkGeek turned out to be pretty shoddy (not their fault). It was a star projector. I spent more than $100 on it - and it does look pretty amazing... when it works. It projects green stars on the ceiling (which move and rotate) and a beautiful blue nebulous star cloud. But it only works for a prolonged period if you smack it really hard at random intervals. Otherwise, all the stars dim & flicker out. Which would be cause for great alarm in real life! Not quite the relaxation I was hoping for...I did think about getting a sweet Lego mug that you can build on from them this Christmas. But alas, I did not.

@thepookapicks: I'm a fan of Coville and Dahl. My niece specifically asked for Dahl books, and some of my soon-to-be nephews received Coville books because they are at exactly the right age for them.

Sorry to hear about your star projector not working. Most of the ThinkGeek stuff I have is non-electronic - a Don't Panic towel, a Pi shower curtain, a TARDIS throw blanket. I do have a TARDIS night light, and that works fine.

@Kismet Book Reviews and Tours: In my experience, unless I have specifically requested certain books, it is usually better for people not to get me books as gifts. I simply have so many books, and have such idiosyncratic tastes that they end up either duplicating books I already have or getting something that probably won't be read in this century.

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